Ohio went for Bush... because the person in charge of counting the votes, Republican Secretary of State Ken Blackwell... did everything he could to suppress the vote. You remember...

If Bush had not won Ohio, can you imagine what a different world we would be living in today?

Jerry Springer's diary :: :: But here's what happened in Ohio in the 2004 election:

Blackwell threw out thousands of voter registration forms because they weren't on thick enough paper! Blackwell had to rescind the order when it was revealed the forms provided by Blackwell's office would fail his own standard.

Blackwell did nothing to ensure counties had enough voting machines or distributed them fairly. The result: epic lines, hours long, which served to deny thousands of voters the opportunity to cast their ballot. A House Judiciary Committee report found that in the state's second largest county, Republican precincts were nine times more likely to get extra machines than Democratic precincts.

Blackwell turned his back on anomalies in the election results that defy all logic - precincts where more people voted than were registered, precincts where third party candidates inexplicably received 20 times more votes than anywhere else, precincts where obscure and unfunded down ballot Democrats received more votes than John Kerry. Blackwell did nothing - no investigation, no questions asked. His side won, and that's all he needed to know.

Next month, Ohio will elect a new governor and will likely decide which party gains a majority in the House and Senate.

And who is counting Ohio's votes this time? Once again, it is Ken Blackwell, who is now the Republican candidate for governor and the incumbent Secretary of State. That's right - Blackwell is responsible for the fairness of an election that will determine his own fate!

The Ohio Democratic Party is not sitting idle. They have created OVEST...Ohio Voter Education, Security, and Training. OVEST is confronting Blackwell right now in the courts, working to overturn Blackwell's voter suppression agenda. And OVEST will be prepared on Election Day, ready to challenge Blackwell's agenda at the polling places.

In 2006, Blackwell and the Republican Party have continued their schemes...They have:

Stymied voter registration drives with an onerous system of fines that would bankrupt any group that failed to follow Blackwell's arbitrary new rules to the letter.

Created a bewildering new Voter ID requirement that will deny countless poor voters their right to participate.

Remained silent as county election officials express widespread confusion about implementing new election rules and working with new voting equipment.

Here's what's at stake in Ohio. We have an amazing opportunity to elect a Democratic Governor (for the first time in 16 years), a Democratic Senator ( for the first time in 8 years), several new Democrats to Congress, (providing a Democratic majority)...all working together to elect a Democratic President in 2008. Those are pretty high stakes, don't you agree?

But first, we need to make sure that the voting process in Ohio is completely tamper-proof. After all, we already know that Blackwell and Ohio's Republican Party will try and do whatever it takes to win.

Please join me in helping OVEST monitor every phase of this important election, the counting of the votes, and re-counting, to make sure it's fair this time. Your contribution is needed now.

The Democrats of Ohio thank you.<snip>

BTW, it's true. Jerry Springer was given the 2004 Ohio Democrat of the Year Award by the Ohio Democratic party.We think the world of Jerry here in the Buckeye State!

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